


Altea University

by JadedTiger



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Mutual Pining, Past Relationship(s), Pining, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:47:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27335908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JadedTiger/pseuds/JadedTiger
Summary: After a year of no news, Keith has finally returned to the University after he mysteriously disappeared. Allura wants to find her elusive friend, so do the paladins. But he keeps them at arms length. Why?
Relationships: Allura & Keith (Voltron), Allura/Keith (Voltron), James Griffin/Pidge | Katie Holt
Comments: 4
Kudos: 16





	Altea University

**Author's Note:**

> I am totally not procrastinating on uni work and other fics as I write this.  
> This was a fun little idea I had and I've been wanting to do more AU's lately (as I not so secretly avoid finishing my longer fics). Hope you enjoy!

Pidge cheered on the match from the stands. Next to her, Lance and Shay whooped for their university’s football team. As Allura had once said, _real_ football, not the football the Americans played.

On the pitch, their team faced off against Arus University’s team. It was a standard eleven-a-side. But Arus and Altea did things differently in one aspect, if their friendly rivalry as anything to go by. Every player wore a mask. It was policy. Something about keeping the players’ identities safe and building trust or something. Pidge had skimmed through the document.

Altea’s team kit was white and pink. Arus’ was black and blue.

Pidge’s eyes tracked the movements of one of Altea’s players, the one in possession of the ball. Number 11, a midfielder. He passed the ball to Number 36, the striker. 36 skid and weaved past Arus’ defense, but was tackled by Arus’ 72. 

36 fell headfirst to the grass. The crowd roared and Pidge did so with them. This was the advantage of playing at home. 

The referee did not blow his whistle, for apparently it was a clean tackle.

Arus’ 72 was now the one to dribble past Altea’s defenses and made it into the penalty box. The goalkeeper steadied himself, eyes locked on the ball. 72 took the shot.

Pidge blinked when she saw him. Altea’s 23 dashed out of nowhere, jumped into the air and headbutted the ball out of the pitch. The crowd cheered as the referee blew the whistle, calling for a corner kick.

“Nice save 23!” Lance whooped and clapped, “Man, where’d he even come from? Fastest guy I’ve ever seen!”

Pidge furrowed her brows in concentration as she studied 23. “Yeah...”

Arus 19 was taking the corner kick. She saw Altea 23 clap Altea’s 44 on the back. They seemed to have a heated exchange before 23 shook his head and ran to just outside the penalty box… where everyone crowded, either in hopes of scoring a goal against Altea or thwarting it.

Her eyes drifted to 44. He pointed at striker 36 and gave him a gesture, an order. 36 moved the farthest away from the penalty box and was immediately man marked by Arus 25.

Arus 19 took the kick and the ball curved towards Altea’s goal post. 44 dashed towards it and jumped, catching it with his chest and shot it before he was swarmed.

She tracked the ball rolling towards 23 who dribbled past Arus’ midfielders and dashed towards their goal post. His speed was unlike any other she had ever seen. But speed did not matter when he was outnumbered. Arus’ defenders swarmed him and while he did manage to dodge past three- no four, he had nowhere to go and that’s when she saw it. The opening.

23 passed the ball to 36. She waited with baited breath, watching the ball fall towards him. He did not let it touch the ground as he swung his leg for a powerful kick. The ball brushed past Arus’ goalkeeper’s gloves as he stretched in a failed attempt to save it.

The crowd erupted into a booming cheer, Pidge included.

Altea won!

The players stopped playing as the referee blew the final whistle. The players hoisted 36 into the air and bellowed their motto. She grinned and clapped with thunderous applause as players from both teams begrudgingly shook hands and clapped. All except for one.

23… who’s mask had fallen off after he had passed the ball.

“Holy shit… Is that..?” Lance asked in astonishment.

Pidge’s eyes widened.

_KEITH?!_

(~)

Allura took a sip from her coffee then groaned when she realized it was empty. 

Fuck.

She glanced at Romelle passed out next to her on the library desk they currently occupied. She frowned and sighed, poking the blonde woman. 

Romelle groaned. “Five more minutes,” she whined and turned her head away.

“It was five more minutes, ten minutes ago,” Allura grumbled and rose from her seat with a sigh. She closed her laptop, after double checking that she had saved her report on _Light absorption of Molecules_ for Molecular Chemistry. It was due on Tuesday next week while her report on _DNA-Binding for proteins_ for Molecular Biology was due in three days. She also had her Gymnastics in about two hours or so.

Romelle should have been helping her, but apparently she was still hungover from Club Daibazaal last night.

Allura tied up her silver white hair into a bun and gently rubbed Romelle’s back, “I’m going to get some more coffee… and getting you more water.”

Romelle grumbled something she did not hear and Allura cracked her neck as she walked down to the cafe across the road. She shivered from the biting cold wind, despite her winter coat. She never liked autumn, she always preferred winter. She had a certain soft spot for it. 

Reaching into her pockets, she dug out a wallet she had been using to keep her cash in (handbags in uni? She would never!), along with her phone. She frowned at it when she saw the messages that had blown up the group chat while she had put it on silent to study.

A few were from her parents, asking about her and how she was doing, and they even sent a picture of the mice. That alone warmed her heart enough for it to no longer feel the cold. She found herself smiling.

The next few were an invite to Matt Holt’s Halloween party, an invite to Adam’s birthday bash and an invite to the Escape room Lance had been raving about, and planning to take her and their friends to.

After that, there were one or two messages from Lotor, her ex. She frowned at them, annoyed at herself when she found her stomach sinking. She had thought she was over it. Why did it still upset her? Plus, didn’t she block him?

Well, she deleted his messages and did so again, just to be sure.

Finally, the old Voltron Club group chat had been uncannily active over the past few months, but especially now. Her phone buzzed with another notification and she blinked at it.

_Fifty eight messages? What on Earth could’ve happened between last night and now?_

She cautiously clicked on the group and with a crevice between her brows, scrolled to the top of the new messages.

_Lance: SHIRO!_

_[11:34am]_

_You freakishly calm bastard!_

_[11:34am]_

_Shiro: Lance._

_[11:34am]_

_Do you really have to insult me to get my attention?_

_[11:34am]_

_Lance: HOW LONG HAVE YOU KNOWN???_

_[11:34am]_

_Shiro: You’ll have to be more specific than that._

_[11:35am]_

_I drink and I know a lot of things._

_[11:35am]_

_Pidge: How long have you known Keith’s back?_

_[11:35am]_

Allura had to pause to collect herself. Her heartbeat quickened at his mere name. He came back to uni? He had been gone for so long without a scrap of news or anyone knowing what had happened to him.

_Hunk: Keith’s back?_

_[11:39am]_

_OMGGG I’ve missed the scary dude!_

_[11:40am]_

_Where’s he @?_

_[11:40am]_

_Lance: Idk._

_[11:40am]_

_Why don’t you ask @Shiro since he’s known all along!_

_[11:40am]_

_Shiro: …_

_[11:40am]_

_Don’t you guys have classes right now?_

_[11:41am]_

_Lance: WHERE DO YOU THINK I’M TEXTING YOU FROM???_

_[11:41am]_

_Shiro: Lance. Put the phone down and focus on your class. I really don’t want to get yelled again by Sanda for, and I quote, “being the reason you’re flunking”._

_[11:41am]_

_Lance: I don’t flunk my classes! I’m not Keith!!_

_[11:42am]_

_Hunk: I don’t think Keith’s ever failed any of his classes, buddy. So, that’s a moot point._

_[11:42am]_

_Pidge: We saw him during the game against Arus. His mask fell off. He ran off before we even got a chance to say hi._

_[11:43am]_

_And I did see some sort of scar on his face. What the heck has he been up to this past year?_

_[11:44am]_

Scar? Allura thought.

_Shiro: Damnit Keith._

_[11:45am]_

_Fine. Yes, I knew he was coming back as a late intake this fall/autumn. I didn’t tell any of you because he made me swear not to bring it up and to keep it a secret._

_[11:49am]_

_As for the scar… I got nothing tbh._

_[11:49am]_

_Hunk: Sounds like him alright. Where the fuck did he disappear off to for a year then?_

_[11:50am]_

_Shiro: According to him, it's “classified”._

_[11:53am]_

_Pidge: Bullshit._

_[12:00pm]_

_Hunk: Hey, I mean if he doesn’t want to talk about it then it’s cool. His choice and all._

_[12:01pm]_

_You got his no.?_

_[12:05pm]_

_Think you could add him back to the chat? I mean, if everyone’s alright with that..._

_[12:06pm]_

Allura’s stomach gnawed at her. He intuition told her it was her he referred to.

_Shiro: Sorry._

_[12:30pm]_

_I don’t have his number._

_[12:30pm]_

_Pidge: Oh fuck off._

_[12:35pm]_

_How can you not have your own brother’s number?_

_[12:35pm]_

_The only reason I can think of is if you’re lying and you talked to Keith about this and_ he’s _the one that doesn’t want to get added back in after he left._

_[12:36pm]_

_Lance: Yeah!_

_[12:38pm]_

_Shiiiiiiroooooooo_

_[12:38pm]_

_Mullet’s always listened to youuuuu!_

_[12:38pm]_

_Just tell him to nut up or shut up!_

_[12:38pm]_

_Or you know, just add him back in!_

_[12:39pm]_

_Pidge: Do you at least have his term time address?_

_[12:43pm]_

_Shiro: I am informed that no, I do not._

_[12:55pm]_

_Pidge: Is he not staying with you and Adam then?_

_[12:55pm]_

_Shiro: Apparently not._

_[12:55pm]_

_Pidge: That lil’ punk!_

_[12:56pm]_

_Tell him that if he doesn’t show his face, I’ll be hacking into his laptop and posting whatever I find if he keeps this up!_

_[12:57pm]_

_And that I’ll sic James on him!_

_[12:57pm]_

_Also tell the jerk we miss him. We_ all _miss the emo bastard._

_[1:00pm]_

_Shiro: Will do!_

_[1:03pm]_

Allura stopped reading after that point. The conversation seemed to have derailed after Lance spammed memes into the chat. 

Her thoughts were now flooded with Keith. Everything that had happened- or rather, _almost_ happened- between them came rushing back to her mind. Their slow friendship and dancing around each other. Then Lotor and Acxa. Then just when she thought they could cross the boundaries of their friendship into something more, he pulled away from her. It bothered her that she did not know why.

She had found comfort in Lance after that ordeal. But even that ended shortly a few months later when they parted on friendly terms.

Keith had disappeared three months into their argument. 

… And now he was back. 

She didn’t even remember what the bloody argument had been about. Likely something stupid. They had always bickered but neither had taken it personally. Something had been different about that last one and it bothered her that she did not know why.

He couldn’t have been jealous, despite what her gut told her. He would have said something. Just like that time she had made some comments about him and Acxa.

She sometimes still wondered if he still harboured any of the same feelings towards her.

Allura chewed her lip as she stared at the open group chat. Maybe she would finally get something- _somewhere_ with the person she had long thought to be the love of her life.

_Allura: Say, who’s headed to Matt’s Halloween party tonight?_

_[4:00pm]_

_I mean, it_ is _Halloween and the last week we have before deadline week. I think it’d be good to get out there._

_[4:00pm]_

Allura then opened a private message to Shiro.

_Heyy! I trust that the game was good, I apologise for not being able to attend._

_[4:01pm]_

_Might it be too much to ask of you a favour?_

_[4:01pm]_

_Would you be able to get_ him _to Matt’s party? I want to speak with him… Hash things out and hopefully rekindle our relationship. Pick things up where we left off._

_[4:02pm]_

She paused and bit her nail anxiously.

_I vow I will get you more of Balmera’s cheesecakes… free of charge… You won’t even have to share with Hunk… or Adam…_

_[4:06pm]_

She then exhaled through her nose and put her phone away. She would not look at her phone… and immediately failed her resolution when it buzzed with a notification… a reminder for her to go to her Gymnastics class. 

Allura scowled at her phone and nearly hurled it but restrained her aggravation long enough to pocket her phone, get some coffee, wake Romelle up and clear their things off the table and scurried off to the gym.

Hours later, after she had finished gymnastics and wiped the sweat off her forehead, she snached her phone as she clutched her bags and made her way back to her shared flat with Romelle. Pidge and Shay used to be their roommates too but both moved in with their boyfriends.

She had received replies and with her heart in her throat, opened them, quickly reading them through. First, her private messages with Shiro.

_Shiro: ;)_

_[4:44pm]_

She blinked at the message. The hell was that supposed to mean??!

She decided to check the group chat next.

_Hunk: Sure, me and Shay’ll be there. Probably a bit late tho._

_[4:15pm]_

_Pidge: Sorry, can’t. Got a date night and I don’t like parties anyways._

_[4:20pm]_

_Someone just promise me to keep Matt sober and out of trouble?_

_[4:20pm]_

_Lance: Hellzzzz yeah I’m gonna be there!!_

_[4:20pm]_

_We about to get turnt uppp_

_[4:20pm]_

Allura sighed and cracked her neck. If Pidge was not coming, then she would have to get ready with Romelle and Shay… if they were going that is. She needed to get dressed up.

Hours passed, until the time of the party befell upon them. Allura, Romelle and Shay strolled up to Matt’s house party, where ghoulish partygoers cheered and drank and danced to the loud music, much to the neighbour’s chagrin.

Shay, wore a nurse costume with two puncture wounds on her neck and bright blood smeared across her white clothes.

Romelle had opted to be a witch this year, claiming to be inspired by Lotor’s mother, and tipped her witchhat in the direction of someone they passed by.

Allura… Allura had worn a red low cut dress. It hugged her curves and even though she felt the chill of the night, she brushed it off, for the sake of tonight’s mission. She wore high heels and a bracelet on her left hand. A necklace hung off her neck, matching her golden earrings. A trail of blood trailed down the edge of her lips down to her jaw. She hissed, baring the fangs on her teeth, at the mummy offering to take her photo. Her white hair was half up, half down, adding to her vampiric allure under the night. Her eyeshadow had also been lightly smudged to add to the costume’s effect and she wore dark red lipstick, contrasting her mahogany brown skin and bright cobalt blue eyes. 

“Geez, girl, leave some for me,” Romelle joked next to her, linking her arms with Allura and Shay, jutting her chin to the many onlookers she had garnered.

“They’re all for you, love,” Allura smirked, “I have my eye on only one tonight.”

“Going to drink his blood?” Romelle asked, amused.

“More than that, if I’m lucky,” Allura murmured, making Romelle and Shay giggle.

Matt’s house buzzed with life. There was no corner, no crevice that had not been occupied by a snogging couple, or a group of Frankenstein’s monsters rousing unrest against the group of mummy’s who were mingling with the werewolves and vamps who got along surprisingly well.

Allura spotted Lance in the middle of the living room, in his pirate costume, having a dance off with Kinkade. The former won, to much of the onlookers applause.

“Thank you, thank you,” Lance said none too modestly with many, many bows.

Allura greeted and hugged him as Shay and Romelle went ahead to get some drinks.

“How was your day, Lonce?” she asked over the loud, thumping music.

“Pretty great! Pidge helped me with most of my coursework so I’m pretty much free for all of next week!” Lance grinned joyously.

“What would you do without her?”

“Don’t know, don’t care to find out!” Lance chuckled and high fived Rizavi and got roped into another dance.

Allura shook her head in amusement. Ever the party animal, she was pleased to see he was the life of the party. As she made her way to the drinks table, she found herself remembering how Voltron was formed.

They never knew each other at first. But a series of events led them all to run into each other and they all formed the Voltron Club. At first it started off as an investigative... detective… thing where they solved mysteries for some cash. A very bad rip off of the Famous Five and all the other similar books she had read in her youth.

That was part of their intrigue to look into Keith’s disappearance. That and because he was their friend. Or at least they thought he was. They liked to think so. Two months in, they had discovered that his and Shiro’s parents knew where exactly he was but refused to divulge the location or reason for his dropout.

That had been enough for most of them to drop the case, even though they missed their friend dearly. They all still indulged in their little theories from time to time. 

Like Pidge’s favourite; Keith had dropped out to become the new Mothman.

Allura had tried to bury her feelings for their passionate friend long before then. She was never even sure if he ever felt the same way about her, given how reserved he was, even in their club.

Knocking back her drink, she glanced around the house, scanning for her target. 

Kinkade chatted with Ina in a corner. Shay had found Hunk, dressed as a space smuggler. Romelle was twerking up on the kitchen counter and Allura found herself laughing. She knocked back another drink. She should really bring her down before she regretted it tomorrow.

Allura reached up, grabbing the hem of Romelle’s costume and tugged her down.

“Come on, sweetie, you know you’re going to moan about this tomorrow. Save us both-”

“Nah, fuck that. I wanna moan tonight!” Romelle laughed and climbed down, slinging an arm around Allura’s neck.

“If you want to hook up with anyone here, then be my guest, but you will do so with a sober fucking mind.” Allura said adamantly and handed her a water bottle and led her to a spot for her to sit down.

“Damn, she’s already down for the count?” said a voice behind her.

Allura whirled around to find Shiro’s tall frame grinned down at her. Part of his face was obscured by his makeup. Skin pulled back to reveal a metallic exoskeleton underneath. He also wore a black leather jacket.

“Shiro!” Allura grinned and pulled him into a short hug then saw Adam over his shoulder. 

Adam wore a black trenchcoat and had dyed his hair black.

“And you two are…?” Allura asked, looking between them as she pulled back.

“Come on, it’s obvious isn’t it?” Adam teased as he greeted and hugged Allura.

“No,” she blinked owlishly.

“Nevermind us,” Shiro smirked knowingly at her and leaned in to whisper, “I expect that cake now.”

Allura’s eyes widened and she studied him. He winked at her and he nodded. 

Keith’s here?!

At once, she glanced around to look for him. Her lower lip jutted out in a pout when she could not find him.

“Uh, what was that?” Adam raised a brow.

“She offered me a bribe,” Shiro smirked and wrapped an arm around his waist, pecking his cheek then turned his head to her, “Go. Adam and I’ll look after Romelle.”

Allura nodded gratefully and surged forwards, snapping her head in every direction as she looked for him. It did not take her long.

He was the only one out of costume.

But there he was, lurking in one of the dark corners, in all his glory. She found her mouth getting parched at the mere sight of him. At how much his jawline had sharpened. How his longer hair cascaded down and framed his sculpted face. And…

And his scarred cheek?

Worry gnawed at her and she moved towards him, a moth to a flame, but she hesitated when she noticed Matt conspiring with him. Matt pressed his index and middle fingers to his thumb, for both his hands, and repeatedly tapped Keith’s chest as if he were giving him a pep talk, or explaining something.

She found it highly amusing that Keith would occasionally slap his hands away, his features and expression schooled. That also gave her pause. There seemed to be a different air around him now. An air of maturity.

Their seemingly discrete discussion turned rather heated, according to Allura’s watchful eye. Soon, Matt shot up with a shake of his head and was collected by his mates.

Allura bit her lip, her attention solely on Keith.

He must have noticed her by now, she was sure of it. He always did have a knack for knowing wherever she was. It had always been a point of _minor_ frustration that she could never sneak up on him.

She did not know how much longer Keith planned to stay here.

_It’s now or never._

Allura crossed the threshold, making sure to grab two drinks and made her way to him. She smiled brightly at him and her eyes twinkled, offering him one of the cups.

“Hey stranger,” she began and took the seat that Matt had vacated.

Keith offered her a reserved smile that did not reach his dark brooding eyes as he accepted her drink, “And the princess has come to mingle with the commoners then?”

She stared into his eyes and winked at him behind her drink, “She’s been known to make a few exceptions here and there for her loved ones.” she teased. He chuckled slightly and she wondered if she could bring that nectar-like laugh out again, “So, I must confess, I am a little disappointed to learn that you’ve been avoiding me,” she said in a jest, concealing the truth within.

Keith’s expression did not change. She could not gauge his emotions behind his mask of feigned indifference. He shrugged and toyed with his cup, “Didn’t particularly feel social, if I’m being honest.”

“When have you ever?” she scoffed and seized the opportunity to admire him… in all the ways that he had grown and filled out.

Keith seemed to have noticed but did not comment. She hoped that he at least noticed her dress.

“But… I’m glad you’re back,” Allura admitted softly, “I missed you. Dearly. Heavens know I did. ”

The corner of his mouth ticked upwards ever so slightly, “And I’m guessing you know I missed you too then.”

“I do now.”

“So, Keith, my brooding knight in shining armour, where did you disappear off to?” she ventured, leaning over to him. She needed to feel his warmth. His comfort, “You scared your princess half-dead you know.”

Silence lingered between them as they watched the party and Keith slowly draped an arm over her shoulders. He had never gone lower. Never without her permission and he had never asked. Always the damned respectable one and it was just her luck that he was somehow always out of her reach.

Things were not awkward between them, at least she did not think so. She was at peace knowing they were picking things up where they had left off.

“Never thought she’d grow so dependent on an expendable knight.” he whispered slowly.

“Who the fuck said you’re expendable? Far from the bloody truth,” she hissed, slightly annoyed.

They both needed to address the elephant in the room, but neither knew how to approach it. For now, the safety of friendship was far more comforting than the allure of a relationship between them.

Keith did not reply, instead, he shifted the topic, “... First Lotor, then Lance. Maybe I should’ve changed my name to Leo to get your attention,” he said, mildly teasing but she caught the slight undercurrent of hurt, not to mention jealousy, in his tone all the same.

Allura swallowed and nibbled on her lip. Her hand came to rest on his chest, “First Acxa… then Allura-” Hopefully, “Luckily for you, I don’t have to change my name.”

That earned a scathing scoff from his end.

“You never had to change anything about yourself, princess,” he said gently and pulled his hand back from her shoulder, “Sorry for not reaching out since I came back. Needed to clear my head and some stuff came up.”

“It’s alright,” she reassured him, sitting up and gently cupped his scarred cheek, creasing her brows with worry, “You could make it up to me by telling me what happened to you.”

He had flinched under her touch and he shifted out of her touch.

“With all due respect, princess, it’s none of your business,” he replied gruffly, then sighed once he took in her expression, “It’s not you. It’s safer- _better_ this way, okay?”

“No, it's not okay!” Allura protested, “You vanish for a year without an explanation and return without even telling me, and now you have a scar! Keith, you wonderful idiot, I love you and I worry about you-” she stopped when she realised what she had said and with wide eyes, held her hand against her mouth, “OH. MY. GOD.” she buried her face in her hands to make sure Keith could not see her face.

Keith, true to form, stared at her with equally wide eyes, lips parted in shock and unable to form a single coherent response, shot up and cleared his throat. “‘Lura, I… uh… shit.”

His eyes had latched onto the stout man with piercings and a leather jacket. His eyes were trained on Keith.

Allura peeked up at him then jolted when she saw that he was nowhere to be found. Panic bubbled up her chest as history threatened to repeat herself. She hurriedly glanced around the house. She could not sight him. She even tapped the person sitting next to her, asking if they had seen Keith. When they denied it, just as everyone else she had asked, she found herself wondering if she imagined the whole thing. No one saw him.

She tugged at her hair with a laboured breath.

The rational part of her brain told her that he had been here. Another said that due to all the uni stress and deadlines, combined with the stress of her relationships, she had indeed imagined this whole scenario.

Surely, she was not going mad… was she?

She grit her teeth and decided to look for Matt before she passed judgement on her mental state.

(~)

Pidge idly scrolled through her phone, checking on her assignments that were due for her Computer Science course when she felt a hand comb through her tawny hair. She blinked up at the perpetrator from her comfy spot on the couch.

“Gonna join me for dinner?” James asked with a small teasing smirk, “It’s steaming hot, straight out of the oven and in about fifteen minutes, it’ll be cold. We don’t want you to get sick and catch a cold do we?”

Pidge raised a brow, unamused, “Oh, I don’t get sick.”

“Right,” James said sarcastically with a nod and smile, “Why were you hurling over my toilet this past Friday again?”

Pidge frowned, locked her phone and crossed her arms with a pout, “I was hungover. There’s a fucking difference.”

“If you say so, kit kat” James scoffed and placed a kiss on the top of her head then slid his hands underneath her, scooping her up into his arms bridal style, amidst her loud protests.

“Jay- put me down!”

“I would, but I don’t want to drop you,” James pointed out and placed her down in the seat at their table inside their shared apartment.

Pidge rolled her eyes and bit her lip to stop a blossoming smile. She then frowned as the day’s surprise caught up to her and she realised something. 

“Did you know Keith’s back?” she asked as he sat down in his seat.

She took note of his pause. His hesitation before his eyes bulged and she swivelled his head towards her.

“H- He’s back?”

Pidge shot him a look and he caved. She was not an idiot and she did not take kindly to her intelligence being insulted.

“Okay, fine. I knew,” he conceded bashfully and smiled nervously at her, “But Iverson made it clear we weren’t to break the bloody news to anyone. Even had us sign a fucking NDA! I wanted to tell you, I really did-”

“Save it,” Pidge reached over, taking his arm over the table, “I only found out today. How long has he been back?”

James sighed and relaxed, slowly intertwining their fingers, “Not sure. I mean it _is_ Keith. But he joined the team back in when...” he paused to recollect, “last month I think.”

“He’s been here at least a month? And he didn’t even tell us?” Pidge ground out, irritated by that emo bastard. Who knows what he had been up to in all that time. He hadn’t even reached out once to her or any of the Voltron members!

“Well I mean he _is_ a major douchebag.”

“Knock it off. Both of you are,” she furrowed her brows at his look of indignation and pat his hand, “Or were. Back in high school, I mean. Don’t know how I ever managed, but God, you two were awful jackasses in your pissing contest.”

James shrugged then with a mischievous glint in his eye, looked her over, grabbed her chair and pulled her closer to him, “Well… if it got me the girl...”

Pidge felt her face warm up and she laughed nervously. How did he do that? From brash to charmingly cocky in the blink of an eye.

“Eat your damned bread,” she muttered and tore her gaze from him.

His rumble of a laugh sent a shiver down her spine and nibbling on her lip, she averted her attention back to her plate as they began to eat in comfortable silence.

Until Pidge took a sip from her drink.

“How’s your paper going? The Aeronautics one?” Pidge asked softly.

James grimaced and his face almost fell headfirst onto his plate, “Haven’t had much time to work on it, truth be told. What with Keith rejoining the team and all the extra training Iverson and Shiro have been putting us through… I can barely make it to the 9ams with my eyes open.”

“And yet you’re still at the top of your game when you’re looking for a shag,” she grumbled behind her drink with a smirk.

James mirrored her smirk and grabbed her thigh. She yelped and almost choked.

“I don’t see you complaining, kit kat,” he rumbled lowly and she rubbed her thighs together. She cleared her throat and pushed the drink down her throat then attempted to compose herself.

“What’s the matter?” James leaned close, “You started it. Plus I finished my meal. But I still have plenty of room for dessert, thanks to you, kit kat,” he purred into her ear.

“James...” Pidge gasped, her meal forgotten in her desire.

“Katie…”

BANG!

The couple jumped at the loud sound, startled and more than a little irked at the ruined moment. James’ gaze locked on their front door as someone continued to bang on it.

“Motherfucker-” James cursed and shot out of his seat, with Pidge following suit, and swung the door open, looking for a fight. But they both faltered when they saw who it was, “What the fuck!”

Keith barged into their apartment, stumbling as he did so, drenched from the rain and his wet hair clung to his face. He looked around in a daze and ignored both James and Pidge’s questions.

She would have ran and pulled him into a long, overdue hug had she not seen the blood first.

Pidge’s heart squeezed, and a knot of worry strangled her, “K- Keith! You’re bleeding!” she stuttered out.

Keith stared at her and blinked.

“Don’t tell Shiro,” was all he said before he collapsed.

He would have hit the floor had it not been for James’ quick reflexes. No wonder he always said he wanted to be a pilot. He would be a good one. He had yet to brag about his skills to her though.

James slung Keith’s arm over his shoulder as Katie spread clean sheets over the couch for him. James set him down and she paled when she caught a better glimpse at his stomach.

Geez, that’s a lot of blood-

“I’m calling an ambulance,” James announced, snatching up his phone.

“No!” Keith protested weakly, “T- Can’t. They’ll finish the job if they see me there.”

“Who?” James demanded, stealing a deep breath as Katie lifted Keith’s shirt to scan his injuries, “What the fuck did you get yourself into?”

“Now’s not the time, Jay!” Pidge chastised, applied pressure to Keith’s wounds and glanced back at her boyfriend, “I’m sorry. But we can question him after we fix this.”

“ _We?_ Do you know how to stitch wounds?” James asked, aggravated.

“Well, I’m probably not the best at it,” Pidge conceded, “But Allura’s better… She does have a medical backgrou-”

“No. Not Allura. Don’t call her here,” Keith protested weakly once more, “Too awkward. I’d rather not-”

“Oh for fucks sake, Keith,” bellowed Pidge, “Get your priorities straight!” she turned back to James beseechingly, “Do we have any first aid kits?”

James stared at her for a moment, “I think so-” he rushed off and came back in a second or two after rifling through their drawers. He set the kit down on their coffee table and knelt down next to the couch as he cleaned the wound and dressed it.

When he was done, Pidge stood up, following his lead and they both looked back at Keith who was drifting in and out of consciousness. He muttered a thank you just as his eyes finally fluttered close.

“What about internal bleeding?” James asked, “It was a stab wound. Bound to be bleeding on the inside.”

“We’ll just have to hope it heals on its own,” Pidge shrugged. Her shoulders sagged with their sudden heaviness and she excused herself to the kitchen where she cleaned her hands and began washing their dinner plates.

What the hell just happened?

What had Keith gotten into now?

First he disappeared for a year, then shows up and avoids her, and finally turns up at her doorstep with no explanation or anything?

Her hands quivered under the warm water, her grip squishing the sponge. 

That blood… all that blood…

She had previously seen blood during her science studies in high school but never to this extent. This… this was different.

This was on someone _she_ knew. One of her best friends, no less.

She flinched when she felt arms wrap around her small frame and reach over, turning the tap off before they gently pulled her back against him. Her mind finally registered what was happening.

James was hugging her.

He buried his face into the crook of her neck and she tilted her head for him. Her breathing slowed and her hands did not shake anymore. 

“You okay?” he asked against her skin.

“No,” she admitted quietly and turned in his hands, resting her head against his broad chest. She said nothing more.

“That’s fair,” he said softly, his arms now rubbing small circles on the small of her back, “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not yet,” she mumbled against his chest.

She felt him hum. “Right. Take all the time you need. You don’t even have to if you don’t want to. But I'm here for you. Now and always, love.”

A small smile tugged at her lips and she closed her eyes, revelling in his warm, comforting, _safe_ embrace. 

“I know.”

(~)

When Allura received the call from Pidge, she breathed an immense sigh of relief. She wasn’t going crazy after all. However, the relief was replaced with anxiety when Pidge informed her what had happened. She wasted no time in rushing to her friend’s apartment.

Pidge opened the door after a single knock. Allura furrowed her brows.

“Where is he?” she demanded, stepping in and saw James standing there, arms crossed disapprovingly.

Pidge led her to the couch, where Keith was still passed out in a sweat and Allura shrugged off her coat as she tended to him.

Pidge turned to James and smiled, “Don’t worry. This isn’t the craziest thing we’ve had to do since we started studying her.”

James’ eyebrow shot up with curiosity, “Oh you have got to tell me these bloody dangerous adventures.”

“Perhaps another time, when someone isn’t bleeding all over your couch,” Allura provided, somewhat irritably.

“Preferably, yes,” James nodded.

Pidge rested a hand on Allura’s shoulder, “Sorry we couldn’t call sooner. He forbade it.”

Allura smiled weakly at her and watched as both her and James retreated to give her some privacy. 

Allura snatched up his hand and rubbed it between her own. Her hands shook with emotion and all the while, the pit in her stomach had deepened into a void.

“You’re a fool, Kogane,” she sniffled as her vision blurred with tears, “a damned bloody fool.”

After a few hours, Keith’s eyes fluttered open with a groan escaping his lips, He squinted as his eyes struggled to adjust. He saw shapes- a single shape above him. Slowly, the blur settled into a face he knew all too well. 

“‘Lura?” Keith rumbled.

“I’m here,” she replied. Her voice… it was sweet. He missed hearing it. Hearing his name roll off her tongue in her wonderful accent.

“And here is…?”

“James and Pidge’s place,” Allura answered, now leaning over him, “You stumbled here in your condition apparently.”

Condition?

Keith frowned and it took a moment for it to all come flooding back in. He let out a deep exhale and settled back into the cushions. Man, it was comfy.

“What happened?” Allura pleaded, “please… don’t shut me out.”

Keith bit his cheek. How was he expected to deny his princess? He thought he had become better at it in their time apart, but now…

“Just… some business with the Blades of Marmoa and Club Daibaazal.”

“Is that why you took the gap year?”

“In part,” Keith nodded and slowly sat up. He blinked when he realised his hand was intertwined with hers, “I got some clues after Voltron’s last case. I decided to check them out and the Blades were the key. Found some disturbing things about Lotor and Zarkon. It… it could incriminate him.”

“Why? Why didn’t you tell any of us?” Allura choked out.

Keith scoffed and bit his lip, looking away, “Because of what happened tonight. Being Altea’s Chancellor has its privileges, as Matt keeps telling me. I had to leave to take the heat off you and Voltron. Instead of six, I would be the only one in his radar.”

Allura half heartedly shot daggers at him, “Bloody fool. You don’t have to do everything on your own.” she sniffled.

“Never been much of a people person,” he shrugged callously and looked down at their intertwined hands. He cleared his throat and dared himself to look back up at her, “About… what you said, back at Matt’s party.” he watched as her cheeks coloured and she ducked her head, “I love you too… I have for a long while n-”

He never finished his sentence for the goddess had pressed her lips against his in a heated kiss. He wound his strong arms around her and hoisted her up onto his lap, pleased with himself at her squeak of surprise.

“That was long overdue.” he murmured after they broke the kiss.

“There are far more important things that are overdue,” least of all, her coursework, “and I plan on making up for all the lost time, thanks to your stubbornness.” she wound her fist in his hair and tugged sharply. She smirked.

“ _My_ stubbornness?” Keith gazed up into her crystal blues.

“Oh yes, quite so,” she grinned, “Solely your stubbornness, Kogane-”

This time, he cut her off with a kiss and nipped at her lip. She giggled against the kiss and as he lifted the hem of her dress past her hips, she purred with anticipation. This was a long time coming.

“OI! No, no and no!” Pidge bellowed and the two separated to see the tiny gremlin scowling at them in an oversized shirt and bedhair, “You two, are not fucking in my apartment! And certainly not after Keith’s barely just healed! You’ll mess up my stitches you hormonal-”

“Oh shut up, Pidge.” Keith waved her off as Allura slid off him, red faced, and hid her face against his shoulder, “Just scurry off back into your room and give us five- twenty minutes will you?”

Pidge did not oblige their attempts at bargaining.

**Author's Note:**

> So, this was supposed to come out on Halloween but me, being the procrastinator that I am, eventually finished it.  
> Plus, I'm not entirely satisfied with it and I could have expanded some things here and there but I have other projects that I need to work on  
> What did you think? Like it? Hate it? Let me know down below!  
> And as always, stay safe out there <3


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